Glenn McGrath

“When I was playing that was the main focus - you knew what you had to achieve but you want to have fun doing it, otherwise there's no point in doing it.”

“As a fast bowler if you're not going to bowl well on a Perth wicket you're going to struggle in Australia.”

“The support for the McGrath Foundation and what it has allowed the Foundation to achieve and grow into has been unbelievable.”

“What's the difference between a good player and a great player? A good player plays well in his own conditions - a great player plays well in all conditions.”

“I'd prefer to do the safari on foot, like they did in the old days and just take the camp with you, not driving around in 4WDs.”

“Since retirement, I have been given the opportunity to spend time with my family. I have three children, aged 16, 14 and one. That is what is really important to me. I have also done a little commentating in Australia and am part of the MRF academy in Chennai.”

“If you've got one bowler - particularly a fast bowler - who is really aggressive, all over the opposition, he brings the rest of the team along with him.”

“The best thing about Lord's isn't the slope, it's just being there.”

“The year 1989 was crucial for me because I had just moved from the country into Sydney to play first-class cricket. That was the time I heard of a teenager called Sachin Tendulkar, who had burst on to the scene and was being annointed as successor to the great Sunil Gavaskar.”

“If the batsmen can give the bowlers a day and half of rest then that is going to work in the team's favour.”

“I always wondered if I would know the right time to retire. After that first Ashes Test in Brisbane in 2006 I had no intention of stopping. I was still focused and wanted a thousand international wickets. I was still driven.”

“When I played in the Australia team the captains were all nerds. Allan Border was a nerd, Mark Taylor was a nerd, Steve Waugh was definitely a nerd and Ricky Ponting too.”

“As a bowler it's a strange feeling when you start running through a team. You get that one wicket under your belt and suddenly you start running in feeling loose, feeling relaxed and thinking about what you want to bowl rather than focusing on trying to force that wicket.”

“Test cricket tests you physically and skill-wise, but also mentally. And you have to be solid on all three to do well.”

“If Australians give you a hard time, then they respect you.”

“There's always a little bit of anticipation - some people call it nerves - the night before, and although I always slept pretty well before big matches, you want to be on edge a little bit to get the best out of yourself.”

“It's the games you lose or struggle in that you learn most from in Test cricket.”

“You can tell yourself that everything is normal, and try to keep the same routine from every other Test match, but there is always something extra special about an Ashes series.”

“When you let that discipline slip you're going to have big problems on the field.”

“One of the great things about cricket, and certainly something that I found helpful, was that as soon as you step over the boundary rope you can switch off everything that is happening off the field and focus solely on what is happening out on the pitch.”